Scots are urged to honour veterans

NICOLA Sturgeon has urged Scots to mark Remembrance Day on their own doorstep.

The First Minister said the coronavirus pandemic means more traditional commemorations cannot take place, with outdoor events currently banned across much of Scotland.

Traditional Remembrance ceremonies, with marches and wreath-laying, are not allowed in areas classed as Level 2, 3 or 4 under Scotland’s system of Covid-19 restrictions, Ms Sturgeon told MSPS, and councils have been given updated advice to make that clear.

Ms Sturgeon said she feels “deeply privileged” to be able to lay a wreath at the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle on Sunday.

Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton spoke of her “disappointment that commemorations this year are being scaled back, understandably, to prevent the spread of coronavirus”.

She stressed: “Despite the pandemic we must commemorate the valour of our veterans and remember those, including family and friends, who paid the ultimate sacrifice to fight for the freedom of our country and indeed the world.”

Responding during

First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said the Government would “encourage everyone who wants to pay their respects to do so safely in other ways”.

She added: “I take the opportunity to encourage people, if they can, to join the two-minute silence on Sunday at 11am on their own doorsteps as we collectively as a nation convey our respect and appreciation.

“I know many people across the country will feel particularly acutely the inability to mark Remembrance Sunday in the way it is traditionally done.

“But that does not mean we don’t mark it, that does not mean we don’t show our respect.”